Much like the fate of the world, Netflix and Marvel’s presentation of The Defenders seems to be balancing on the keen edge of a katana blade. After a very slow start, the show suddenly upped its game when it finally brought its four heroes together to indulge in some good old fashioned comic book fisticuffs and things managed to get even better when, in the aftermath of their first union, the show took the time to have our four leads lay low together to let their various, ill-matched, personalities and egos settle.
However, with four episodes down and only two of them really reaching the potential the show is capable of, it seems like the fate of The Defenders (and the Netflix universe with it) is hanging in the balance to see if the team can manage to stick the landing.
Well good news; while Take Shelter doesn’t exactly hit the heights of the previous episode, it still manages to not only keep the hefty cast moving, but a certain character climbs back into his iconic uniform to unleash some devilish pain.
After their plan to chill out in a Chinese restaurant shockingly falls flat, the makeshift team of Matthew Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand and the wounded Stick find they now have to once again contend with the Hand. However, this time they are no longer just squaring off against mere thugs, but the heads of the organisation itself as the likes of Madame Gao, Murakami, Sowande and, of course, Elektra swarm the place looking for blood and attempt to capture Danny Rand.
However, after the melee that sees super powered punches and flying martial arts crap whizzing about everywhere, Murdock manages to separate Elektra from the pack and tries to jog her memory back to her previous life. The thing is, he’s actually partially successful and while she’s still very much the lethal Black Sky, she actually saves Matt’s life at one point from Murakami. However, in the aftermath of the fight, some changes start to happen. Luke manages to take Sowande hostage and the team attempts to get some answers out of him, but the gang is pissed to discover the connection between Murdock and Elektra as it damages the trust between them. Also, Stick’s rather startling lack of regard for human life starts to freak out the more forthright members of the team, especially when he displays how far he’s willing to go to get information; but the good news is it forces them to have Misty Knight gather up their loved ones into protective police custody and it finally manages to get Matt to take up the mantle of Daredevil once again.
On the flip side, the Hand seems to be displaying a similar lack of trust as Gao, Murakami and a resurrected Bakuto (remember him?) start to openly question Alexandra’s leadership. However, the biggest wild card is Elektra herself as her confrontation with her former love seems to be firing a couple of dead neurons in her resurrected brain.
While the last episode made the absolute most of a limited concept (Defenders bullshitting in a restaurant), this episode jumps right back into the depths of the growing lore that’s gradually spread out of both Daredevil and Iron Fist and while there’s a danger that it could once again get too complicated or simply spread the team out so soon after putting them together, Take Shelter manages to do its job with a clear and concise vision.
The best example of this is that it finally and plainly lays out the hierarchy of the Hand in a way that’s way more than simply introducing shadowy antagonists with grim facial expressions. We already know Madame Gao as she’s been established via numerous shows at this point and Sigourney Weaver’s been doing an exemplary job of making heaps of exposition sound far more feasible than it has any right to, but now we get more of a bead on the three other members. Sure, Murakami is just a stand in for a decapitated Nobu and we only get to know Sowande’s deal after he’s captured and eventually decapitated thanks to Stick, but the return of Bakuto (last seen getting stabbed in the heart) may throw anyone who has found that the contents of Iron Fist had slipped their mind, but at least there’s now an evil super team established.
The show has also finally given Elodie Yung’s Elektra something to do now other than just goes through the same, brainwashed motions as the Winter Soldier, only with more striking cheekbones. Now that Murdock has gotten in her head, the formally focused assassin has questions, which is not something that makes a Hand desperate to replenish their resources particularly happy. Where this goes in anyone’s guess but the assembling of groups isn’t something that’s just limited to the heroes and villains.
That’s right. In an attempt to keep them safe, all the friends, loved ones and sidekicks of our main quartet have been herded into one place and it’s quite fun to see if and when any of them catches on to what links them all together. In fact, this could have been an episode all of its own, much like the one set in the Royal Dragon, but unfortunately we don’t have the time to spare.
However, one thing I’m not particularly crazy about is the fact that in an attempt to generate more drama, the Defenders still have trust issues despite an entire episode in each other’s company and it highlights a particular problem that the Netflix show all have. It’s often so preoccupied by being edgy and grim, it often forgets just to have fun and cut loose with some pure, uncut comic book shit. Would it be so bad to have them trying to be a unit rather than them doing everything in their power to deny what’s right in front of their faces? What is more fun – having them piss and moan about trust, or seeing Danny and Luke micro geek out when Murdock returns in full Daredevil costume? I know which one I’d prefer and I’d rather not wait for the entire series to be done before we belatedly see them working as a unit.
Weirdly pushed to the side is the reunion of Coleen Wing and Bakuto which, if you watched Iron Fist, is kind of a big deal. However, both his shock return and her subsequent wounding not only fails to do justice to Jessica Henwick’s fan favourite character, but essentially waylays her too just as business is picking up.
However, helping to maintain the positive is that we finally have Murdock back in the horns and by God is a welcome sight to see, especially as he’s the only one with an actual, honest to God, superhero suit seeing as Danny Rand never got a comic accurate costume. The mask, the colour, the billy clubs; it’s all been way too long since the Netflix shows went full Marvel, which can be a little frustrating when all you have to do is break out a kickass costume every now and then.
Considering how much plot it has to move, Episode 5 is a noticeable step down from the previous instalment and yet taking the time to cleanly lay out the battle lines while testing the fracture points of this newly minted team means that The Defenders has well and truly found their groove.
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